At age 31, Cooper Kupp’s best days are behind him.
The former Super Bowl MVP is no longer a receiver teams have to game plan around.
He’s not the elite down-the-field threat the Patriots need for Drake Maye.
But that doesn’t mean at 4 p.m. Wednesday, when the new league year starts and the LA Rams release Kupp as expected, the Patriots should sit on their hands.
Assuming there’s no last-minute trade, and Kupp is set free, Mike Vrabel & Co. need to pounce.
With Vrabel already making moves to establish his culture, bringing in players who fit the mold, going after Kupp makes a lot of sense.
He’s a five-time team captain, has been hailed for his work ethic and toughness, and those qualities are right in Vrabel’s wheelhouse.
“We’re going to demand effort and finish,” Vrabel said during his introductory press conference. “People ask what non-negotiables are. Our effort and our finish is going to be the contract that we make with our teammates. That will be my job to make sure.”
Sign Kupp, and he’ll be one of the leaders in the clubhouse when it comes to effort and finish. He’ll elevate the level of professionalism in a young receiver room.
And, he’ll be a dependable outlet for Maye in those gotta-have-it moments in games.
He’s not what he was when he earned the receiver triple crown in 2021 - tops in yards, receptions, touchdowns - but he’s still a good route runner who can beat man coverage, something Patriots receivers have been hard-pressed to do.
He will make plays at critical times. Those qualities alone make Kupp an attractive catch.
While his stated preference is signing with a contending team, the Patriots still have some sway power with cash to hand out, even after their spending spree Monday.
Money certainly talks and has a way of making players change their minds about playing for a contender.
The Patriots also have Kendrick Bourne, a friend of Kupp and former college teammate at Eastern Washington University, lobbying hard for the receiver to come east.
Add in Patriots tight end coach Thomas Brown, who was a coach with the Rams from 2020 to 2022 during Kupp’s time in LA, and it might be enough to at least pique the veteran wideout’s interest.
In the farewell post he wrote after being informed by the Rams they were moving on, Kupp seemed focused on proving LA was making a mistake.
“I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA,” Kupp wrote. “Still, there’s one thing that I have learned over the years: there are so many things that are out of your control, but it is how you respond to these things that you will look back on and remember.”
He went on to say he was “highly motivated, as healthy as ever and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come.”
So why not make the move to have a motivated Kupp come to New England?
With the Patriots striking out in the elite receiver market, unable to coax Chris Godwin away from Tampa Bay, and not being an attractive destination for DK Metcalf and Davante Adams, they still need to procure more help for Maye.
Kupp did miss some time last season after suffering an ankle injury Week 2, but still played in 12 games, with 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns.
Looking at the Patriots statistics from 2024, Kupp would have been the leading receiver in all categories playing in fewer games.
While that might be more of an indictment of Maye’s current arsenal, it also illustrates the need for better players in the receivers room.
Kupp is certainly an upgrade, albeit not the desired upgrade.
Against the Patriots in a Week 11 game at Gillette Stadium, he torched the secondary, catching six passes for 106 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
Kupp’s age and recent injury history are concerns, but the team isn’t in a position to pass on the chance to acquire more talent in the receiver room.
In 2022, he signed a three-year, $80.1 million extension with the Rams. It paid him an average of $26.7 annually. Maybe he can be had for roughly half of that average on a two-year deal.
It’s not hard to build a case for Kupp. It’s just up to the Patriots to deliver.
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